Russian oil companies have increased their oil refining volumes in August, according to a report by the daily newspaper Kommersant. This uptick is attributed to Gazprom’s plants ramping up output, helping refineries recover from losses due to Ukrainian drone attacks and technical outages.
The report indicates that average oil refining volumes for this month have reached approximately 760,000 metric tons per day, equivalent to about 5.6 million barrels per day (bpd), marking a 2% increase from July’s average of 758,400 tons per day. If this trend continues, August could see the highest monthly average of refining volumes for the year.
Despite this increase, it is anticipated that refining volumes may decline in September as maintenance activities become more prevalent. The Russian government has also extended a ban on gasoline exports until the end of the year to stabilize the market amid rising seasonal demand and scheduled refinery repairs.
The Surgut and Astrakhan plants of Gazprom played significant roles in boosting overall production after completing maintenance work, contributing to the positive trend in refining volumes.